Stop-arm cameras are becoming an increasingly popular tool for catching drivers who illegally pass school buses that are loading and unloading students, but Indiana legislators are backtracking on a bill which would expand the use of the cameras within the state.
House Bill 1404 was scheduled for a vote on Feb. 24, but it faced opposition from critics who expressed concern about potential privacy violation concerns, according to WANE.
Under the bill, school corporations could have entered into agreements with private companies to install stop-arm cameras on school buses. The cameras would have been capable of photographing vehicles, including the license plates, of drivers that illegally passed stopped buses. These images would then have been used to issue citations for the violations.
The bill specifically indicated the images would need to include electronic verification that the stop arm was extended at the moment of the passing incident.
Once the images had been recorded, they would have been sent to law enforcement for review. An officer would then decide whether a citation was appropriate for the alleged violation.
Critics of these cameras often say they are unreliable because there is the potential for someone other than the owner of the car to be behind the wheel at the time of the accident. House Bill 1404 recognized this and would have allowed the owner of vehicles accused of illegally passing to provide the name and address of individuals alleged to have been operating the vehicle at the time of the incident if the owner was not the operator.
The bill also indicated school corporations would receive 37.5% of the fines.
Opponents of the bill claimed the surveillance-like equipment would cause members of the public to feel their privacy was being invaded. Similar opinions have been stated in the past against similar legislation which has been passed across the country, however the concerns in Indiana have forced lawmakers to withdraw the bill.
Rep. Ed DeLaney, who co-authored the bill, confirmed the bill had been killed and would not be inserted into any other legislation.
